It continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into modern languages around the world. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It is believed to have been composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad being the oldest. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. In 2018, when BBC Culture polled experts around the world to find literature's most enduring narrative, the Odyssey topped the list.įreebase Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes Adaptations and re-imaginings continue to be produced across a wide variety of media. The first English translation of the Odyssey was in the 16th century. The Odyssey is regarded as one of the most significant works of the Western canon. This focus is especially remarkable when contrasted with the Iliad, which centres the exploits of soldiers and kings during the Trojan War. Scholars still reflect on the narrative significance of certain groups in the poem, such as women and slaves, who have a more prominent role in the epic than in many other works of ancient literature. Given widespread illiteracy, the poem was performed by an aoidos or rhapsode and was more likely to be heard than read.Ĭrucial themes in the poem include the ideas of nostos (νόστος "return"), wandering, xenia (ξενία "guest-friendship"), testing, and omens. In antiquity, Homer's authorship of the poem was not questioned, but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently and that the stories formed as part of a long oral tradition. ![]() The Odyssey was originally composed in Homeric Greek in around the 8th or 7th century BC and, by the mid-6th century BC, had become part of the Greek literary canon. In his absence, Odysseus was assumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus had to contend with a group of unruly suitors who were competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. After the war, which lasted ten years, his journey lasted for ten additional years, during which time he encountered many perils and all his crewmates were killed. It follows the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the Trojan War. As with the Iliad, the poem is divided into 24 books. ![]() ![]() It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. The Odyssey ( Ancient Greek: Ὀδύσσεια, romanized: Odýsseia, Attic Greek: ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. Wikipedia Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes
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